On the Verge: Dirty Projectors

Welcome to the War on Pop's weekly Tuesday column, "On the Verge", which highlights artists and bands that have received some attention and/or critical acclaim, but that are still not considered a big time act. Musicians of this caliber would most likely be have been found by major indie music critics, such as Pitchfork or Stereogum, but are not exactly ready to go be a headliner or second bill at a major festival.













The Dirty Projectors are a Brooklyn-based indie-rock band. Formed in 2002 by frontman Dave Longstreth, they have slowly developed a large following since their inception. Currently a sextet, the band has been praised recently as one of the more innovative bands of the past decade. And as their 2009 release Bitte Orca shows, this group has continued their tradition of making experimentally catchy music.












The Dirty Projectors create music that is a beautiful mess, through their combination of indie-rock and chamber pop, dashed with beautifully broken funk. Their grooves do just enough to grab listeners' attention and get them off their feet, only to pull them back and forth between the cracks of their fragmented riffs. At a certain point, their style forces listeners to relent their desire to dance, and give way to an immersion in their unique, multi-layered sound. The Dirty Projector's signature, however, can be found in their distinctive harmonies. With David Longstreth on lead vocals, and band members Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian providing backup, the band aptly combines odd and entwined harmonies to compliment and complete their style.












This year has treated the Dirty Projectors quite nicely, as their release of Bitte Orca has been consider by many to be their most successful and accessible to date. Combined with their contribution of "Knotty Pine" (featuring Talking Heads legend David Byrne) to the mega-compilation album Dark Was The Night, David Longstreth and company have encapsulated a decade of experimentation with undoubtedly their best work to date.

Be sure to check out the following tracks below: "Cannibal Resource", "Stillness is the Move", "Knotty Pine", and "Temecula Sunrise".